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The Halloween Kids (TV series)
The Halloween Kids is an American/Canadian/Australian TV series that aired from 2000-2002, airing on Nickelodeon in the US, YTV in Canada and Nine Network in Australia. It's considered to be a follow up to the book series The Halloween Gang, and its respective TV special. It was produced by The Corning/Emerson Group, Media World Features and Suzhou Hong Ying Animation, with international distribution and additional work by Nelvana Limited. A driving force behind this series was Strange's contempt toward a previous television adaptation produced without his involvement. He embellished his own company with his business partner Owen Emerson to buy the television rights to produce his own series. Due to financial issues, he moved to Canada and had the series produced there, with financial assistance from Canadian and Australian outlets. Plot In general, the series focuses on The Halloween Kids, a group of children who live in the fictional Woodroot Village and investigate supernatural occurrences and myths, intervening when necessary. When going about their day, the kids hardly interact with one another, being of different social classes and trying to enforce it, but they put aside those differences when they need to save the day. Characters The Halloween Kids The Halloween Kids are a gang of children encompassing multiple personalities and means of handling situations. When conceiving the characters, Strange claimed that the usage of a large main cast was done to focus on a family dynamic, where all development effects the group who put aside their hierarchal differences for the good of their home town. Their biggest connection is that fact that all were born in October, and are descendants of supernatural beings that laid the groundwork for Woodrot's foundation. While they had no recollection of their original upbringing, they felt the need to remain together and solve all supernatural issues in their town. The kids take in new members, unaware that they were originally part of the team during their founding period. *: Indicates new additions. *'Alison Meeks (Mae Whitman):' The leader of the Halloween Kids, hailing from Darien, Connecticut. Alison is a spunky talkative girl and the leader of the Halloween Kids. She is knowledgeable on everything obscure or irrelevant to what's currently happening, with a varying payoff. Since she was the first to discover the club's first monster, she had leeway in becoming their leader. She wears shades frequently, implied to occur due to some kind of eye disorder. *'Colleen Dixon (Melissa Fahn):' Colleen is Alison's best friend. Like Alison, Colleen was originally from America, hailing from Denver, Colorado. Colleen is a somewhat shy girl who takes on a deadpan persona when she's forced to interact with others. She often gives sarcastic one-liners whenever the situation demands it. Colleen stuck with Alison because the latter understood her better and is helping build her self-esteem. Both she and Alison were considered social outcasts because of their weird behavior, as well as the other kids needing an outlet to let out their frustrations after getting tormented by the older kids but soon win their respect. Colleen has 12 siblings and lives with a single father, her mother dying as a consequence of birthing so many children within the span of a few months. *'Sparky and Brighton Oliver (Peter Kelamis and David Paul Grove respectively):' Identical twin nerds. They try to rationalize everything with logic, but get turned away almost every time. Dante and Damien have a psychological hold over Sparky, since the latter maces Sparky when he gets too annoying. Brighton hates confrontation and tries to maintain peace between them and the bullies, but backs down when anyone threatens him. While highly intelligent, they have no grasp on chemical-oriented experiments, something that Liz outs them in. The other kids hardly understand Sparky, so Brighton takes on the role of translator. *'Sam Bliss (Julie Lemieux):' A girl who's into magic and planting and is also a bookworm. It's revealed that she's a witch, but she keeps it under wraps so she could make friends easier and maintain a normal life. Sam is a bit of a hippie, frequently going out into nature and tending to her own greenhouse. She is often the victim of pranks and various annoyances spurred by Julie and one of her neighbors, but she tries not to let them get to her. *'Julie Dallow (Jenn Forgie):' A punk girl who often takes the role of a contrarian. She employs a punk-like look and used to be a prominent street rat. She enjoys chewing gum and listening to her walkman and seems to hold a closer friendship with Jerry and Jenny, later Sam as well. Julie prides herself on being brutally honest, not caring what the outcome would be when she states what's on her mind. *'Jenny Lipstone (Carrie Finlay):' A perpetually naive girl whom because of her slow wit is the source of mockery from other students, which thankfully doesn't hold a negative effect on her. She has a crush on Jerry, which stemmed from him defending her when she misheard something her teacher said. Jenny is a very nice girl, though she's often too nice for her own good. *'Jerry Sandoval (Ian James Corlett):' A cowardly boy with good intentions, seen the most with Julie and Jenny. Unbeknownst to Jenny, he has a crush on her too, namely because he felt she was too naive to see his worst qualities. He tends to be a bit egomaniacal and is very impatient, which prevents him from making any newer friends, but deep down he seeks lasting friendship. Jenny seems to be the only person he could be himself around. *'*Becky Proctor (Lisa Ng):' The third and final addition to the Halloween Kids. Becky was born on a farm and is somewhat naive to city culture, but she finds her way through constant help from the Halloween Kids. She was the daughter of the founder of the Cult of Wolves and shared her father's misanthropic view of humanity until she met the Halloween Kids, whom encouraged her to give humanity a second chance. Becky kept her werewolf affliction with the intent of using it for good. Under this guise she is more headstrong and arrogant. She seems to have developed a crush on Randall, since he had a hand in letting her into the group. *'*Stephy Hicks (Stacey DePass):' Julie's cousin who disappeared when the former was a kid. Stephy fell off a cliff and was taken by a mad scientist for use in his experiments, which turned her into a chimera like monster. The kids use her to help them rehabilitate Julie and Emily and they induct her into the group out of gratitude, restoring her to her former self in the process. Stephy is a reserved individual who tries to keep things leveled, though she isn't above playfully mocking people who try to annoy her. Stephy comes from Julie's stepfather's side, and was supposedly the only person Julie could connect to. *'*Emily Blythe (Ashley Taylor):' A nerdy girl who was infamous for throwing her former friends under the bus to avoid scrutiny. Everyone hated her and bullied her relentlessly, but it all came to a heed after a lab accident mutated her, along with Julie. The kids, with the aid of Stephy while she herself was afflicted help her and induct her into their group. Since then, she has tried to better herself and seems to have succeeded, though she still fears she will return to old habits. Emily has a love for acting and science. The Perrino Elites The Perrino Elites are an in-school secret society. They exist to provide a protection racket for the more dominant social groups, namely bullies (preferably bullies with higher intelligence than others), divas, jocks and those with professional connections. They would seek anyone who annoys them and punish them based on the extent of their misdeed. At first they were frowned upon, but they have made a good name for themselves by making the school safer. They often provide information to the Halloween Kids on whatever's occurring for the day. * Francis Perrino (Antoinette Spolar): The leader of the Elites, best identified by her large head sporting a bulging vein. Francis is a well-rounded yet strict leader who at first despised the Halloween Kids, unbeknownst to them, but later changed her mind after seeing they weren’t a threat to school safety and especially since Alison saved her. She would often aid the Halloween Kids, provided she shares their desire to go through with whatever’s proposed. Francis is an aspiring director and is loosely based on Louis Peraino. * Ashley Yorke (Amber Hood): One of Francis' best friends and a co-coordinator. She always possesses a scowl, something she blames on a stroke she had in the past. Often handles negotiations and keeps things leveled. Like Alison and Colleen, she two was from North America, hinted to be somewhere in Kentucky. She suffers from arachnophobia. * Fiona Atkins (Sandy Fox): Francis' other friend. Fiona seems to lack mental stability, showing no reluctance to bring about cruel and unusual punishments to anyone who crosses Francis or any of the other elites. Also tends to act like a dog, something she does to get attention. She seems to be closer to Ashley than Francis given that both spend the most time tough, but this may be because both are usually fulfilling orders made by Francis. Fiona is part-Polish. *'Angela Asbrew (Alyson Court):' A bully and female foil to Dante and Damien, though she generally keeps to herself. She is cruel to her younger cousin Pamela, spurred by her uncle's favoritism toward her. Angela is an anti-authority individual, which she keeps secret to avoid causing trouble for herself. Angela ran away from her home after a fight with her parents, spurred by her temper and thick-headedness and now lives with her uncle. She used to be good friends with Georgina, but both grew apart overtime and Angela became more of a loner until she was able to make a stagnant friendship. She's the niece of the mayor. *'Dante Ahrens and Damien Gordon (Tony Sampson and Peter Oldring respectively):' The school bullies. Damien is the milder of the two and always manages to come up with decent justifications for his misdeeds, though he is a bit slow-minded, yet he's also much friendlier than Angela and Dante. Dante is the smarter of the two and is quick to chastise Damien for the slightest screw up. Dante is also a self-proclaimed ladies man and frequently flirts with Angela and Julie, later Stephy, leading to embarrassing circumstances. *'Georgina Sutcliffe (Tabitha St. Germain):' The school diva. Georgina originally hailed from Yorkshire and was a sheltered, boarding school attendee from a well-off family until they lost ownership of the school. They moved to New Brunswick to start a new life and their daughter would be forced to attend public school. Georgina is a girly-girl, slightly naive due to her still-developing grip on the middle-class town and is fairly nasty, looking down on people she deemed to be of poor taste. *'Phoebe Corkery (Erin Fitzgerald):' Georgina's best friend. Her appearance and social skills conflict with Georgina's standards, but she makes up for it in being much crueler. Phoebe is a misanthropic, manipulative and sociopathic girl who has managed to get her way by any means possible, particularly to get out of whatever trouble she's in. Her disgust for the world stems from the death of one of her closest friends, one she felt she could've prevented. *'Elizabeth Kitrosser, Dolly Hellman and Suzy Yuzna (Chantal Strand, Nicole Oliver and Carly McKillip respectively):' Georgina's friends, who are among the most popular students in her school and are equally snobbish. Both are better known for their hobbies, which the Halloween Kids partake in due to being friends with Georgina. Elizabeth enjoys monster movies and is the president of the school's film club, and is the more intelligent of the three. Dolly hosts slumber parties and invites the Halloween Kids to them. She has a valley-girl dialect and frequently says "totally". Suzy has an affinity for fishing and brings the kids with her on her father's boat so she won't be lonely, and is also more coolheaded. All of their last names are taken from the directors of the final three Silent Night, Deadly Night movies. *'Randall Preminger (Richard Ian Cox):' A business savvy and fairly snobbish boy. He is cold and manipulative, infamous for driving his former neighbors into insanity by instigating them and turning the rest of the neighborhood against them, and he uses this fact to ensure people take him seriously. Georgina serves as his on and off rival. Randall seems to suffer from an anti-social complex and lacks traditional people skills. Randall is a descendent of one of Woodrot's founders. *'Tiberius Kurt (Daniel DeSanto):' A jock who's part of the school's football team. He is a strategic thinker and serves as a bodyguard alongside Dante and Damien. He often keeps to himself. *'Tommy Kadic (Kath Soucie):' A classmate of the original Halloween Kids, and the older brother of Marie. He was once respected by the other kids back when Alison and Colleen were social outcasts, but after they solved their first case with the two girls, the kids abandoned Tommy especially since he maintained his allegiance to the root of the case. Tommy is deemed little more than a nuisance to the Halloween Kids and Perrino Associates, but he occasionally serves as an ally whenever the former are aiming for a similar goal. He served as an antagonist after getting influenced by the Headless Inspectre, but gains his free will back at the end of the series. *'Marie Kadic (Sarah Gadon):' Tommy's twin sister, who has the ability to advance her strength following an unwitting banishment to the Pixel Dimension. She served as the antagonist in the first episode, but redeemed herself after saving the Halloween Kids from the Werewolf Cult. Marie is a tomboy who loves video games and baseball (even carries her own baseball and bat, which she affectionately named Les and Paul respectively.) She often helps the Halloween Kids more often than the Perrino Associates, and represents the middle ground between both. Other Characters * Pamela Hubbard (Tracey Moore): Angela's cousin. Pamela is an optimistic girl who's the biggest supporter of the Halloween Kids. She is loyal to her cousin Angela, in spite of her mean attitude towards her. * Mayor Buzz Hubbard (Richard Newman): The mayor of Woodroot, and the uncle/father of Angela and Pamela respectively. He once served as a member of an investigative group called the Raven Stakes, until the leader led most of the group into a fatal coup that killed a group of framed spirits. The experience has left him embittered and reluctant to let go of the past. * The Raven Stakes: A paranormal investigation team that predated the Halloween Kids in terms of overall function, ran by Buzz Hubbard. The original team supposedly died in a coup, but it's soon revealed that they were sent to the Detendimension by Tommy's Father Martin. One common trait that expanded to the Halloween Kids is connections shared between the members, while the Halloween Kids were all born in October, The Raven Stakes each had similar birthmarks. * Curtis Kadic (Martin Short (debut), Roger Dunn): He's the principal at the kids' school and is the father of Tommy and Marie. Curtis is an eccentric and strict individual, but is also reasonable. He seems to have it out for the Halloween Kids but begrudgingly asks for help solving issues that usually effect him and the school. He's a single father who loves his children unconditionally, which is a motive for when he shoots down the Halloween Kids more dangerous propositions. Curtis used to be part of the Raven Stakes, but blaming Buzz for the coup, he dropped out and opted to try and make a simple living for himself, until the Headless Inspectre possessed his wife and made her leave him. * Hope Chapley (Ellen Ray Hennessy (first few appearances), Samuel Vincent): The kids' elderly teacher. She is a somewhat strict figure, but holds a lax dialect when the kids argue with one another, allowing her to record them to watch later as a substitute for television. Hope seems to have a crush on Curtis and frequently flirts with him. Whether he accepts these flirtations depends on the circumstance, the rest of the time he considers her to be a good friend. * Ms. Werzog (David Lander): The school's art teacher and auditorium director. She made the most appearances in the first season, and had very few since then. It's strongly implied that she's actually a man in disguise, and is part of the witness protection program. Episodes *Indicates its an adaptation from one of the books. Pilot Season 1 Season 2